Avalanche forecast

Northwest Inland

Feb 22, 2019Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 8 years ago

Avalanche danger

Sat
Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

New slabs will likely form during Thursday night's storm. Expect to find the deepest and touchiest deposits in cross-loaded and lee terrain features.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    More snow Thursday night will produce fresh wind slabs in exposed areas. The touchiest deposits will likely be in lee and cross-loaded terrain, as the snow will fall with strong southwest wind. The slabs may not bond well to underlying faceted snow.

Confidence

Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain

Weather Forecast

THURSDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 10 cm, strong southwest wind, alpine temperature -8 C.FRIDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 1 to 5 cm, light to moderate southwest wind, alpine temperature -8 C.SATURDAY: Early-morning snowfall and clearing over the day, accumulation 1 to 3 cm, light east wind, alpine temperature -16 C.SUNDAY: Clear skies, light to moderate east wind, alpine temperature -16 C.

Avalanche Summary

A few small wind slab avalanches were triggered by skiers and naturally on Wednesday. They were on all aspects, in steep terrain, and at treeline and alpine elevations. The slabs were generally 10 to 20 cm deep.

Snowpack Summary

Thursday night into Friday's storm is expected to deliver another 10 to 15 cm of snow, which will add to the 5 to 10 cm received on Tuesday. Strong southwest wind during both of these storms will form wind slabs in cross-loaded and lee terrain features in exposed areas. In sheltered areas at and below treeline, this new snow fell onto pockets of feathery surface hoar crystals and soft, faceted snow.In the south of the region, the remainder of the snowpack is well-settled. In the north of the region, around 50 cm of snow may overly a weak layer of surface hoar or faceted grains.

Regions covered